Senate President meets Buhari, pledges early passage of 2017 budget

chika ebuzor

December 1, 2016 4:44 PM

Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the 2017 budget estimate for onward submission to the National Assembly.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki and President Muhammadu Buhari

The President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, on Thursday assured the country of early passage of the 2017 budget proposal.

Saraki gave the assurance while addressing State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the 2017 budget estimate for onward submission to the National Assembly.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma, who confirmed the development to State House correspondents, said the date for the presentation of the document would be given by the National Assembly.

The Senate President, however, expressed the readiness of the National Assembly to receive the document.

He also expressed optimism that within the next couple of days, President Buhari would transmit a letter to the National Assembly to lay the 2017 budget before it.

“We are ready. Once the document comes to us, we are ready.

“I think this time around a lot of things, a lot of work has taken place behind the scenes – a lot of more collaborations and I think that you will see the result in the time frame it will take after the president will have presented it.’’

Saraki said normalcy had been restored to the Senate Chamber after Wednesday’s incident where some Senators from the opposition party, PDP, staged a walk-out in protest against one of their senators, who defected to APC.

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“Normalcy has been restored to the house and we are one family again.’’

He said the opposition party has its views about the defection of a senator to the APC.

chika ebuzor